Notes in Review

Love's Rescue

by Tammy Barley

Sierra Chronicles, # 6

It’s 1863. To escape the ravages of war, Jessica Hale’s family leaves their beloved home in Kentucky for a new life in the Nevada Territory.

Jessica’s brother, Ambrose, is determined to help defend their southern homestead. Against his father’s wishes, the young man joins ranks with the Kentucky militia and returns to the south. When Ambrose goes missing in the midst of the War Between the States, Jessica’s attempts to find him set off a chain of events that will change her life forever.

In the wake of a close encounter with political fanatics, Jessica loses everything that matters and then finds herself spirited away to a remote ranch in the Sierra Nevada wilderness. There, Jessica’s every effort to escape is thwarted by handsome rancher Jake Bennett and his loyal cattlemen.

Jake knows what it’s like to lose everything. He’s determined to protect Jessica through her time of loss. There are those who would harm the young woman for nothing more than being a Southerner, and Jake and his men have no intention of allowing that to happen. Still, how can he help Jessica’s wounded heart to heal when she so deeply resents him for what she perceives as his failure to save her family? He can’t make her see the truth, but he can protect her, and he can pray while her eyes are opened and her broken heart mends.

Tammy Barley’s action-packed debut novel is wonderfully rich in historical detail. It’s a tightly woven, riveting tale of love and loss, faith under fire, and wild hearts on the run. As the author unfolds this spellbinding story, a vivid picture of life in the Old West is revealed with stunning clarity and depth. Love’s Rescue provides everything a reader expects from this era: cowboys and Indians, damsels in distress, good guys and bad hombres, gunfights and moonlit nights. The last page leaves the reader longing for more of Jess and Jake. It’s an absolute must-read for the lover of historical romance.

A masterpiece of storytelling intricately woven with spiritual wisdom and insight, and threaded throughout with the good, the bad, and the ugly of love, life, and humanity.

Bravo, Ms. Barley!

Reviewed by Delia Latham